Roblox Movie: Toy Story 4 Director Josh Cooley Hired to Write Horror Adaptation

20th Century Studios has hired Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley to write the screenplay for a film adaptation of the Roblox hit 99 Nights in the Forest, according to the studio. It marks a transition from highly polished Disney sentimentality to blocky, user-generated suspense.

The studio confirmed the hiring of Cooley, who took home an Academy Award for directing the fourth entry in Pixar's flagship toy franchise. He will now adapt the survival-horror game, which tasks players with surviving hostile creatures in a dark, pixelated woodland.

While some horror adaptations struggle to balance tone—much like how the Resident Evil movie reportedly cut comedy after test screenings—20th Century Studios is moving ahead by tapping an established animation veteran to shape the script.

The details

• Screenwriter: Josh Cooley
• Source game: 99 Nights in the Forest (Roblox platform)
• Production studio: 20th Century Studios
• Release date: Not announced

Adapting a property built entirely inside Roblox marks a notable step for theatrical pipelines, turning player-created servers into mainstream intellectual property. Whether a cinematic flashlight can replicate the tension of navigating low-polygon trees with a group of friends remains to be seen.